Max Verstappen topped Friday Practice for 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc topped FP1 which saw nine drivers skip the opening session to give rookie drivers time in the cockpits as part of mandatory rules for drivers to give up two FP1 sessions each season.
The Monegasque continued his momentum into FP2 as he topped the opening stint but ultimately fell short in the qualifying simulations to Verstappen on soft tyres.
FP1
Mercedes’ FP1 driver, Frederik Vesti was first out on track as he replaced George Russell for the session and set 1m 24.851 on the hard tyre, but Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar on medium tyres set 1m 22.001 as he then traded the fastest lap times with Leclerc, Esteban Ocon and Oscar Piastri before he posted 1m 21.091.
Ocon and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg then displaced Hadjar but the Frenchman responded with 1m 20.128 in the 15th minute, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli seven minutes later put Mercedes top with 1m 20.035.
McLaren’s Piastri was the first driver to switch to the soft tyre and lowered the benchmark time to 1m 19.035, before Antonelli rebounded with 1m 18.487 in the 33rd minute.
Leclerc however set the fastest overall time of 1m 18.380 in the 38th minute to top the session from Antonelli, Hulkenberg, Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Red Bull’s FP1 runner, Arvid Lindblad was the quickest rookie driver in sixth as every team except Sauber ran a rookie in this season, with the Brit having outpaced Yuki Tsunoda by 0.093 seconds.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m 18.380 |
| 2 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.107 |
| 3 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | + 0.380 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.404 |
| 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | + 0.536 |
| 6 | Arvid Lindblad | Red Bull | + 0.617 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 0.658 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | + 0.710 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 0.951 |
| 10 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.004 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | + 1.029 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 1.092 |
| 13 | Pato O’ Ward | McLaren | + 1.300 |
| 14 | Frederik Vesti | Mercedes | + 1.309 |
| 15 | Paul Aron | Alpine | + 1.482 |
| 16 | Ryo Hirakawa | Haas | + 1.693 |
| 17 | Ayumu Iwasa | Racing Bulls | + 1.773 |
| 18 | Luke Browning | Williams | + 1.930 |
| 19 | Jak Crawford | Aston Martin | + 1.991 |
| 20 | Antonio Fuoco | Ferrari | + 2,474 |
FP2
Liam Lawson headed a flurry of drivers who sat out FP1 onto the track at the start of FP2, but it was Mercedes’ George Russell who set the initial benchmark time of 1m 20.253 on medium tyres.
Leclerc however soon headed the order with 1m 18.669 once everyone set their first fliers and he subsequently lowered his quickest lap to 1m 18.153 by the end of the medium tyre runs, although Aston Martin opted to run Alonso and Lance Stroll on the soft tyres.
Everyone else followed Aston Martin onto the soft tyre but Leclerc laid 1m 17.545 on his soft-tyre qualifying simulation in the 29th minute, which was only beaten by Verstappen’s session-topping 1m 17.392 to head the Monegasque and Antonelli.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 17.392 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.153 |
| 3 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.174 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.251 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.300 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.437 |
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | + 0.491 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 0.546 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 0.547 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.562 |
| 11 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | + 0.826 |
| 12 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.840 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 0.874 |
| 14 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | + 0.889 |
| 15 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | + 0.931 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | + 0.956 |
| 17 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 1.050 |
| 18 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 1.329 |
| 19 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.463 |
| 20 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.802 |
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